News Release

Massachusetts Residents May Participate in a Research Study To See if the Aspirin Family of Drugs Can Improve Type 2 Diabetes Management

BOSTON — May 7, 2007 — Are you one of the estimated 360,000 people with type 2 diabetes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? If so, you may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial at Joslin Diabetes Center investigating whether salsalate, an anti-inflammatory drug used for years to manage arthritis pain, can reduce blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Massachusetts follows the national trend of diabetes. Approximately 6 out of 100 people in the Commonwealth have been diagnosed with diabetes, and 20 out of every 100 deaths are diabetes-related. Clinical trials are a critical way to explore better treatment and management programs that can reduce the complications caused by diabetes, such as heart attacks and strokes. This study will examine if salsalate, which is chemically similar to aspirin but has fewer side effects, can significantly reduce high levels of blood glucose and lead to an inexpensive yet effective treatment path for people with type 2 diabetes. Salsalate has been used for more than 40 years to treat pain associated with arthritis.

Participants in this study will make seven to eight visits to Joslin Diabetes Center over the course of 21 weeks. Each visit will be an hour or less, including an exam and lab work. Participants will be provided at no charge with a glucose monitor and trial medication (either the study drug or a placebo, a pill with no active medication). Parking is free for each visit, and participants will receive monetary compensation for each study visit completed. During the study, participants will continue to see their personal physician for all of their healthcare needs.

The ideal candidates will be adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who are between the ages of 18 and 75, who are not on insulin and whose glucose levels are not in good control. Other criteria will be reviewed during the screening process for the study.

If you are interested in participating in this study, referred to as Targeting Inflammation with Salsalate in Type 2 Diabetes (TINSAL-T2D), please contact Elizabeth Tatro at 617-735-1940. For more information on Joslin, call 1-800-JOSLIN-1 or visit http://www.joslin.org/